Home Workouts
A No-Equipment Home Workout for the Whole Body
A useful home workout should be easy to start and easy to adjust. This session uses five movements and clear progressions, so you can train without pretending that every bodyweight variation fits every person.
In this guide
Warm up for the movementsThe five-movement sessionMake it easierMake it harderStop signalsWhat this session cannot replaceEvidence behind the training frameworkWarm up for the movements
Spend five minutes walking in place, circling the shoulders, and performing slow practice repetitions. The purpose is to rehearse the positions you will use—not to exhaust yourself before the working sets.
The five-movement session
- Chair squat: 3 sets of 10–15.
- Incline push-up: 3 sets of 6–12.
- Hip hinge or glute bridge: 3 sets of 10–15.
- Supported split squat: 2 sets of 6–10 per side.
- Dead bug: 2 sets of 6–10 controlled reps per side.
Rest 60–120 seconds between sets. Use a stable chair or countertop; do not use furniture that can slide or tip.
Make it easier
Reduce the range of motion, use hand support, choose a higher surface for push-ups, or complete fewer repetitions. An easier variation performed with control is more productive than a difficult variation performed with repeated loss of balance.
Make it harder
Add a pause at the hardest point, slow the lowering phase to three seconds, increase the range of motion, or add repetitions within the listed range. Change only one variable at a time so you can judge its effect.
Stop signals
End the set if you feel sharp pain, sudden dizziness, chest pressure, or unusual shortness of breath. Normal muscular effort and a rising heart rate are different from symptoms that feel sudden, severe, or unfamiliar.
What this session cannot replace
Without a secure pulling anchor or resistance, a home routine is limited for back training. Do not improvise rows under an unstable table or hang from an untested door. When equipment becomes available, add a supported dumbbell row or an appropriately secured band row.
Use the first session to find your chair and push-up height. In the second, repeat those settings and record repetitions. Make one change at a time so a harder variation does not mask fatigue.
Evidence behind the training framework
Currier and colleagues, 2023: resistance-training prescription systematic review and network meta-analysis. This review compares training approaches in healthy adults. It provides context for planning resistance training; it does not validate every technique cue or prescribe an individual starting load. The worked examples above are editorial applications, not experimental results.
Sources and limitations
The practice examples on this page are educational suggestions, not results from a supervised trial or an assessment of your movement. Public-health context comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and the CDC’s physical activity guidance. See our editorial policy for how we research, write, review, and update content.